TIE Corps Ambush at Tralar
by VA-Master
Summary: Follow the ISD Challenge as it tries to return to EH Controlled space while being pursued by a Rebel Strike force lead by a MC-120!
1. Default Chapter

Prologue. 

Prologue – A Few things you should know.

Well if your reading this let me first say welcome, and I hope you enjoy what ive written, its taken countless hours, in fact the first draft took over a year to write.

Anyway, a few things need to be cleared up before you read any further.

While this is your typical run-of the mill Star Wars fan fic, its actually based on the Emperor's Hammer, the TIECorps in particular.

In short its one hella large Imperial Fleet lead by Grand Admiral Ronin & Sector Admiral Kowalski who control a small part of the galaxy and rule in the Emperor's name.

This fic mainly features the ISD Challenge and its Battlegroup in their journey to return home after a long tour of duty, of course nothing goes right.

Anyway enjoy, and please review.

Respectfully,

_Vice-Admiral Master_

Command Attaché to the Tactical Officer

XAM Professor at the Imperial Weapons and Training School

Former WC of Wing X – ISD Challenge

Former Tornado Squadron Commander – Wing X

Former Tempest Squadron Commander – Wing X


	2. Chapter One A Normal Patrol

Ambush at Tralar 

Copyright © Mark Howman 2005

Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet

Written by Master.

Chapter One. 

Chapter One – A Normal patrol.

Three months…three long months since the ISD _Challenge_ had seen the home system of Aurora, after the long battles with the New Republic near the Galactic Core with a small force and limited fighter craft.

However the Challenge along with the Escort carrier _Cardinal_, an Infiltrator Wing MC-60 the _Malice_ and a small group of Corvette's and Frigates they had managed to capture several factories, starships, raw materials and destroy New Republic warships, however even after these major successes the cost was indeed high, at the final battle with the New Republic forces while the _Challenge_ was trying to leave the core with most of the ships, they had been attacked by a Mon Calamari fleet consisting of several MC-60's, 80's, 90's and their were rumours or an even bigger Mon Cal Star ship going around, however it had not been confirmed but the thought made your blood run cold. Never-the-less the New Republic with a Star Cruiser that could take on a Super Star Destroyer easily was a terrible thought to think about. The group of ships had made it into Hyperspace, but they had been damaged and lost most of their fighters.

At the moment, the _Challenge_, Escort Carrier _Cardinal_, MC-60 _Malice_, the M/FRG _DeathFyre_, several Corvettes, a Victory Class Star Destroyer The _Ravager_ and many freighter craft were travelling through hyperspace heading for Aurora, the Commodore of the remarkable ship, Rear Admiral Manitsas was seated his eyes half closed on the command chair on the bridge. If you had of glanced in his direction you could have sworn that he was asleep, however his time as a Squadron Commander in Inferno Squadron had taught him that you could never be off guard. When everything looks peaceful, something is waiting to go wrong.

Then all at once it did.

"Navigation. Report! What's going on"? The Rear Admiral asked standing up.

"Sir we are exiting hyperspace, the hyperdrive seems to have malfunctioned, engineering reports the damage in our last battle was more extensive than they originally thought" The officer replied.

The starlines disappeared and realspace returned in-front of the view port, there were several nebulas and planets around, the area looked like it had been recently formed, light from several close objects blinded the bridge but the dampeners did their job and the viewports darkened.

"Location"? Manitsas asked as he walked over to one of the officers.

"It appears we are still in the Inner Rim sir, still deep within New Republic territory, we are on the fringes of the Cubla Nebula close to several New Republic planets" the officer replied as he punched a few buttons on the console then continued "Some of our escorts have exited hyperspace next to and behind us, and there are no other craft on our scopes" the officer said reading the Commodores mind.

"Give me a damage report" Manitsas calmly said.

A holo screen flickered to life and a young technician was shown, he saluted sharply. "Sir, the hyperdrive is damaged, it must have taken a hit in the last battle, it managed to get us this far, but there is no way we getting any further"

"Can you fix it"? Manitsas asked.

"Its possible, with the right parts and tools and enough time" the tech replied.

"How soon"?

"A day at least, and that's if we have all the right parts on board"

"Very well, Get your men on it ASAP and report back to me every few hours" Manitsas said saluting then he closed the connection.

He sat for a few moments in the command chair wondering what to do, almost all the fleet that was returning to Aurora, and they had been lucky to stop a few of the ships before they could pass them and continue on, but they were also deep in New Republic territory, and the New Republic knew they were still in the area, and they would be decimated if the Mon Cal fleet jumped in.

"Communications get me WC Darklord" Manitsas said calmly.

A few minutes later General Darklord entered the bridge, he saluted RA Manitsas who got up from his position on the command chair and saluted back.

"Thank-you for coming so quickly DL, At Ease" Manitsas said.

"You called Sir"? Darklord asked noticing the nervousness around the bridge.

"Yes, I want Wing X on a constant patrol around the ships, I'm sure you have read the damage report of our skirmish with the New Republic fleet" The Commodore asked.

"Yes Sir, I have read the reports and familiar with our losses" DL replied.

"Then you understand what we have?"

Yes sir. I know what we have to work with."

"Very well, make the best of it."

The pilots and Squadron Commanders stood to attention and saluted as General Darklord entered the briefing room.

"At ease all, please take your seats" Darklord said as the Holoprojector sprang to life and the Emperor's Hammer Logo was shown.

Darklord began,

"Reports say that the _Challenge's_ Hyperdrive was damaged in our last battle with the Rebel Mon Calamari Cruisers. Repairs are essential for us to catch up with the rest of our battle group. We'll be flying a just in case patrol. The Commodore feels that we may be in some danger here. And I agree that caution is best, so we will be sending four craft patrols who will circle our ships".

The Holoprojecter changed to show the Challenge, then showed the area map.

"The Craft that managed to exit Hyperspace when we stopped were, the Escort Carrier _Cardinal_, MC-60 _Malice_ and the M/FRG _DeathFyre_. The VSD, several Corvettes and freighter craft carrying supplies continued on so we are on our own".

Several pilots gasped, Darklord knew how they felt, stranded deep in New Republic territory, with the enemy knowing roughly were they were was suicide.

"Squadron's will take turn's in patrolling, one flight from two squads will be patrolling at once which should be plenty to deal with any New Republic forces or any hostiles that enter the area, the New Republic doesn't know exactly where we are so we have some time on our side".

The map showed the patrol patterns then Darklord continued.

"Pilots this was the good news. The bad news is that all ships used in our last battle with the Rebels took considerable damage and has been called 'unstable' in flight. Therefore…you will be flying our training fighters, the standard _Imperial Twin Ion Engine Fighter". _

Many of the old hands groaned who were lucky enough to use them when the Empire was still in power and survive.

"However," and he grinned. "We've managed to attach a couple of missile tubes onto the TIEs that. True, you'll be flying the _paper crate machine of death_, but you'll have a couple of Advanced Missiles sitting under your seat. All the more reason, not to collide with another craft out there."

He was met with a few nods. "Squadron Commanders I want you to drill this into your pilot's heads: You don't have the luxury of shields out there. You are a flying bomb if your hit. You die, your ship dies. We don't expect much trouble but the tech's need about a day of repair time or it's going to be a VERY long flight home. Now we come to the most exiting part of the briefing, naming the first two squads to fly patrol, and the winners are Squads Thunder and Typhoon, report to the hanger bay at once. The rest of you squads, get your rest while you can, I have a feeling your going to need it, DISMISSED"!

The pilots saluted and DL returned the salute then left heading back to the Bridge.

Thunder Squadron and Typhoon remained in the briefing room and picked the eight pilots who would fly while the rest of the squadrons went to do their own things until it was their time to do their patrol.

_ISD-II Challenge_

_Hanger_

LC Beef eased himself into the Tie Fighter, Definitely not my day he thought as a tech closed the top hatch, after checking important systems he opened the channel to the other pilots in the flight. "Ok gang, report in".

"Ready to Rock and Roll Major" LCM Dex D'Alcobia answered who was in position two.

"All systems go" LT Stuart replied who was in position three.

"Lets get this done" SL Han Shek replied who brought up the rear of the flight.

"Ok, waiting confirmation from command, sit tight for the moment" Beef said punching in the codes for the bridge.

"Sir, Thunder Squad is ready to go, do we have permission for patrol"?

"Confirmed, good luck out there, bring those Tie's back to us in one piece and the pilots with them" WC Darklord replied answering then closing the connection.

"Ok lets hit it, remember these Tie Fighters don't have shields so u cant bounce it off the Challenge if you get bored" Beef said with a chuckle.

The Tie's Twin Ion Engines roared to life and they shot out of the hanger and began their patrol.


	3. Chapter Two A Working Hyperdrive

Chapter Two. 

Chapter Two – A Working Hyperdrive?

"Report General"? RA Manitsas asked entering the bridge.

Darklord had been monitoring the bridge for the last few hours after the Rebel Cruiser had launched its fighters then escaped, for those hours the bridge crew had been working on the small amount of information they had gathered.

"We have some news Sir, unfortunately not much of it is good news" Darklord said saluting.

"Ok let's hear it" Manitsas said sitting down in the command chair.

"Well the tech's in the engine room just reported in, the hyperdrive is almost totally a write off, they have said there might be a small chance that they can fix it but to be honest it might take weeks, the damage from the last battle only made the problem worse than it was" Darklord said.

"Yes Yes, I've seen the tape" Manitsas replied referring to a single X-Wing managing to get through the Challenge's laser barrage and hitting the engines, it had made the engines power fluctuate wildly causing explosions in the engine room and blowing several parts of the hyperdrive engine.

"What's the report on the fighters"? Manitsas asked.

"We lost several Tie Fighters when the Rebels attacked, the lucky thing is we lost no pilots, they managed to go EV and were picked up, only one pilot was injured and is recuperating in a bacta tank, he should be out within a few hours" Darklord replied.

"Good, so it looks like the Rebels have located us then, shouldn't take them long to send a fleet here to wipe us out" The RA said wearingly.

"Sir, if I may make a suggestion"? Darklord replied putting down the datapad.

"Of course Darklord, speak your mind".

Darklord walked over to the Holoprojector and pushed a few buttons; it showed where the _Challenge_ was located.

"This star system here off to our right" DL paused to enlarge the view. It swung into view, complete with orbiting moons, planets, asteroid fields and even a dust cloud. ", the Vilous system contains a substantial garrison of rebel forces. At our current sublight engine speed, we'll be there in a day." DL ignored the annoying fact that the same distance in a simple, routine hyperspace jump would have taken only fractions of fractions of a milisecond.

"If we can eliminate the defending forces, and capture the garrison, we'll be able to use any supplies they may have to bolster our own."

"And what about the root of our problem, the hyperdrive engine?" Rear Admiral Manitsas asked.

"Does this mad scheme to capture supplies from a well defended outpost somehow work into that plan?"

"Yes sir." Darklord continued, " The rebel base is known to garrison nearby worlds which manufacture important supplies for various rebel shipyards. All we have to do is find the cargo with the hyperdrive engine and"

"And the _Challenge_ will be back on-line" Manitsas sighed appreciatively.

"Do we have any freighter craft still on board"? Manny asked with a hope.

Darklord played around with the Datapad for a minute then finally answered, "All our Assault Transports were damaged or destroyed in our last mission, we have no shuttles which are in flying condition".

"Are you telling me, we don't have one ship that will be able to capture the base, what about the personal ships, there is bound to be something in their" Manitsas said slowly watching this plan crumble.

Darklord punched a few more buttons calling up the manifest of the secondary hanger, finding a freighter in the secondary hanger would be difficult, most pilots couldn't afford to keep a large craft on the Challenge, even at a WC pay DL couldn't afford to keep his on the ship.

Darklord raised an eyebrow, "Only one sir, a Correllian Freighter".

"No way, there is no way you are taking my ship" Master said as he followed his Squad Commander, Locke down the corridor.

"You don't have a choice, you signed the agreement when you landed on the _Challenge_, it said at any time your ship can be used in any way command see's fit". Locke said as he approached the bridge doors.

A security guard looked at their ID tags and the bridge doors opened giving them access.

"Ah Lt Colonel, Lt Commander, glad you could make it" Manitsas said looking up from a viewscreen.

Locke saluted but Master refrained.

"I have guessed Locke told you we need for freighter"?

"Yes Sir, however I do not approve" Master replied.

"Unfortunately it's the only ship we have available, and unless you can come up with a better alternative we have no choice and will use your ship" Manitsas said.

Master thought for a moment.

"I do not approve of you taking my ship and I cant do anything to stop you, however if I was flying it, it would not be classified as taking my ship" Master said with a grin.

"Can you spare him Locke"? Manitsas asked Locke.

"Probably not, but doesn't look like we have much of a choice" Locke answered with a small grin proud of the Master's slyness.

"Agreed, Wing Commander Darklord will brief all the pilots in 20 minutes, I suggest you both are their, Lt Commander if you need a flight crew then they need to be authorised by WC Darklord" the Rear Admiral said wearily "Dismissed".

"We expect moderate resistance in the form of standard Alphabet Fighters." Various blips showed on the holographic map. What we need to do first is destroy their communications ability. We don't want the entire rebel fleet to get here in a matter of minutes. Our forces are going to need time to search for the hyperdrive and capture the container or ship that it's on" Darklord said addressing the pilots.

"Now all our cargo craft have been destroyed in our previous battles, however Lt Commander Master of Tempest Squadron has kindly authorised the use of his personal freighter".

"Now, while Master's YT-2000 freighter the _Vornskr_ inspects the base, cargo containers, and any cargo ships in the area and then captures the main base, we are going to have some fun" Darklord said with a grin.

"We will have three squadrons in space, with one in reserve, Thunder and Typhoon squads are both on stand down because they were in the last mission, Tornado is on Yellow Alert, while Tempest, Cyclone & Inferno are in space, Tempest will attack any freighter craft, Cyclone will attack any fighters in the area, and Inferno will attack the enemy base of operations and disable it.

We have some stored away Y-Wings, which Inferno will be using, because of their large warhead bays, which are perfect for the Advanced Proton Torpedo's.

Tempest and Cyclone have also moved up in the world, they will no longer be flying the paper-crate carton-o-death, the Tie Fighter". Darklord said leaning against the wall scratching his recently shaven chin.

"Instead you get to fly _fast_ paper-crate-o-death. In other words, you'll be flying the _TIE Interceptor_." Relief gave way to dread, however some pilots grinned, as it was known that many older hands did like the Tie Interceptor.

"I'm sorry about that, but repairs were naturally more accessible for the interceptors since shield generators and advanced plating weren't needed." More pilots began to grumble under their breath. Muttering angry syllables about red tape and lazy repair teams.

"Don't gripe or we'll throw you back in a normal _Tie Fighter _without a Heads Up Display." Darklord grinned evilly at the wary but now silent faces.

"Much better. Now if there are no further questions, let's get to our ships. We have a hyperdrive to get."

Master strode down the corridor towards the secondary hanger, luckily his ship was in such good condition that it could be started in less than a minute, however no one had jumped at the chance to help him fly, not that he wanted help anyway.

Upon reaching the hanger, he punched in the correct code for the hatch, which opened with a loud hiss of the hydraulics.

"I hear you need a co-pilot", said a voice behind him.

Master knew it was Seph before he turned around.

"If you think you can handle a real ship" Master said with a chuckle turning to face his friend.

"If it's made to fly, I can handle it", Seph said with a smile.

"Is it ok with Locke & Darklord, they don't mind that your flying with me"? Master asked taking a crate up into the deck.

"No, they said as long as we come back in one piece they don't care" Seph replied.

"Ok get on board then, we should be taking off soon" Master replied with a smile.

The doors on the far side of the room split apart with a hiss from the hydraulics and a platoon of Hammer's Fist Special Troopers walked in.

Master waited until they reached the ship.

Their Captain saluted, Master returned it with a loose salute.

"I have new orders for you Lt Commander" the captain said holding out a data disk.

He must have noticed the quizative look on Master's face.

"It comes from RA Manitsas himself," the trooper continued.

Master moved the disk around in his hand trying to figure out what could be on it that was different to the one he has seen no more than an hour ago, "Ok captain, plenty of room inside" Master said as he walked inside. The troopers entered the ship and went to the lounge area and sat in the seats.

Master put the Data Disk in the reader and sat in the pilot's chair, RA Manitsas's face appeared in the holo field. "Master, we changed one of the orders, sorry about the timing but we thought it best to change it, As of now, we want you to lead the team into the main base to capture it, it should be pretty straight forward, I was told you have Captain Sephiroth acting as your co-pilot, I'm sure he can handle the gun turret while you and the commandos capture the factory. Also COL Mairin told me you wanted her in the gun position, I have approved it because Tornado Squad is on yellow alert anyway & Capt Werdna Elbee can lead the squad with no problems, by the time you get this message she should be almost there. Best of Luck to you Lt Commander, May the Force be with you"

The Holo turned off.

Master looked up at Seph and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure I can handle the guns while you're inside" he said.

"I didn't doubt that there isn't many people id rather have in the turret, however I'm just wondering why I am going in with the commandos" Master said.

Seph shrugged "Manny probably just wants someone in there with them, I wouldn't worry about it". Master nodded and Seph went back to checking the systems.

Master went to the hatch and stuck his head out and saw Mai approaching.

Mairin ran towards the ship and as she entered Master hit the control switch to close the hatch.

"Slavelet" she said smiling.

"Mai, good to have you onboard" Master said with a smile.

She smiled and winked.

"You better get to the turret, we are late" Master said heading back towards the cockpit.

Master jumped into the pilots chair, "Ready to Roll Seph"? He asked after he secured himself.

"Yep, Everything is in the green" Seph replied.

"Ok strap in, here we go" Master said into the intercom.

The New Republic Shipyard in the Vilous system had seen very little action, in-fact at one stage they had nothing but three scout Z-95 Headhunters. But recently New Republic command had dropped off a large amount of fighters. Apparently with the increasing Rouge Imperial sightings in the sector, command had been worried they would be attacked.

General Borrus Kavban continued on his daily duties, compiling reports, checking on new arrivals, checking on the day's departures, and sending off all of it to New Republic Command.

"General we have Imperial Ships entering the area, appears to be a MC-60, and a Modified Frigate, and they are heading directly here" a young lieutenant said running into the General's office.

"Open a communication with them, asking their intentions, Prepare to launch all fighters as a precaution, lets hope they aren't going to get hostile", the General said looking out into space.

"Ok, Inferno attack the base, Cyclone the fighters and satellites, Tempest split your group, half of you on the fighters, the other half on the parked transports and shuttles, _Vornskr_ you know your orders" WC Darklord radioed on the primary frequency to all the craft in space from the bridge on the _Malice_.

X-Wings and A-wings shot out from the Platform.

"Darklord this is the _Vornskr_, we have Rebel Fighters entering the area, we will take some of them out" Master radioed in.

"Confirmed _Vornskr_, good hunting" Darklord replied.

Master heard the familiar thrum of the top turret where Mai fired the triple Blaster cannon. Seph turned on the automatic targeting system for the bottom cannon and it fired at the nearest enemy fighter. A couple of X-wings fired at the _Vornskr_, Master pushed the flight yoke and the ship went into a diagonal barrel roll. One of the X-Wings exploded showing the nearby space with metal. Master noticed an A-wing heading towards them, Master switched on the Ion Cannon, which was situated under the cockpit. The _Vornskr_ rocked with a laser blast from one of the X-wings, "Damage Report"? Master asked as he moved the crosshair over the A-wing. "Shields at 180, No Hull Damage" Seph replied. When the targeting computer flashed the words FIRE Master hit the fire button and several blue bolts streaked out towards the A-wing. The first bolt was harmlessly absorbed by the shields however it seemed the A-wing pilot didn't know how much power the _Vornskr's_ Ion Cannon actually had, the second shot shattered their front shields and the third disabled the craft. Master turned the ship to go in a wide arc around it and noticed the A-wing was blown to scrap by Mai in the top turret.

"All Fighters are off our back" Mairin said through the internal comm. "Ok time to capture that base, Darklord this is the _Vornskr_, we are starting our attack run on the main compound" Master said. Darklord took a moment to respond, "Confirmed _Vornskr_, Inferno Squadron have got their shields down to 50, think you can take care of the rest"?

"Yes Sir, just keep those fighters off our back while we capture the base" Master said jinking the craft to avoid the laser fire from a near by B-Wing which was soon blown apart by the turret cannons, then he hit the firing stud and several warheads headed towards the base.

Tempest Group was having a hard time, several of their Tie Interceptors had been damaged and pilots had been forced to go EV, but thankfully no pilots had been lost yet. "Rover form up behind me, we are going to take a run on that shuttle group trying to make a run for it" Locke radioed to Rover. "Right with you boss" Rover replied to his Commander.

Rover lined up behind Locke and targeted the shuttles running for it. "You take number two Rover" Locke said concentrating on the task at hand. Rover double clicked the comm signifying that he understood.

Locke lined up the lead shuttle in his sight and waited for the distance indicator to click down, when it reached 1500m Locke pulled the trigger, in the other Tie Interceptor Rover did the same, The first shuttles top S-Foil blew off forcing the shuttle out if control, Rover's blasts hit the rear off the second shuttle, trying to avoid the fire the shuttle tried to veer, but the first shuttle out of control slammed into the second in which they both exploded into a fireball. "Good work, now onto the transports" Locke said heading towards the transports.

"See that thing sticking out from the north pole of the base, shoot it Mai, it's a deflector shield array, ignore the tailing fighters" Master said on the internal comm., the sound and vibration from the cannon confirmed that she had understood.

"Seph I'm going in low, take over the ion for me" Master said.

"No problems" Seph said as he reached out and flicked a few switches giving him control of the nose mounted cannon.

Pushing the ship into a steep diving the _Vornskr_ accelerated towards the enemy base, as they got closer the shots from the top cannon got louder and quicker.

"Framework coming up, watch it" Seph said concentrating on taking out and laser batteries that were in sight.

"I see it, hold on" Master replied as he gritted his teeth and pushed the yoke down slipping the ship into one of the canyons of the base, several of the enemy fighters tried to follow, a few made it in however most hit the framework and were destroyed instantly.

"So this is what it was like in the Death Star Trench" Seph said with a grin.

"Yea but Solo wasn't stupid enough to fly into it with the Falcon" Master said as he accelerated, "We are going to get one pass at disabling this thing, and we are going to come out right at the docking port, command area will be to the north, your only going to get a second to disable it, think you can hit it" Master said with a grin.

"No problem" Seph replied.

"Ok, Mai as soon as we leave the Trench take out our new friends" Master said as he watched his rear shields go down 50.

"No problems Slavelet" She said in reply.

With one smooth motion Master pushed the yoke and the _Vornskr_ shot out of the trench like a gun heading for clear space, then it turned an shot back towards the command area, Seph saw what he was aiming for and shot off several shots disabling the base. Master heard the turrets fire then fall silent.

"All of the fighters following us either hit the wall in the trench or got shot down, your all clear" Mai radioed in.

Killing the engines and putting on the repulsers the ship slowed and latched onto the docking port with ease. When it stopped Seph and Master got up Seph headed for the turret and Mai headed for the ramp where she was going to secure the immediate area.

"Troopers we here, you know what your doing" Master said grabbing a power pack and putting it in a blaster rifle.

The Troopers filed out and secured the area. "Seph take good care of my ship" Master said through the comm. piece he had on his ear.

"No problems" Seph replied.

"Good luck" Mai said as Master followed the commandos out of the ramp.

Master smiled at Mai as he ran out of the ship.

The First thing that he noticed was that all power had been cut to the area, the only light came from glowrods that the commando's had attached to their rifles.

"Captain, did you shut off the power"? Master asked

"No, it appears that it was cut by someone else, perhaps by the workers to hinder us" The Commando's leader responded.

"Ok, be careful of hidden traps" Master said.

The Commando's moved forward, obviously the best, Master didn't want to hinder them so he remained at the back.

They passed several hidden traps, which were easily disarmed, including several man pits, stun nets and even a pair of laser triggered Flame Projectors.

Soon they reached the command centre; the two guards outside the door were quickly taken out.

One of the commando's pulled out an Electronic Lock Breaker and fixed it to the lock, several seconds later it gave the code and with a hiss the door's opened.

All the Command staff was taken by surprise, they had expected the battle to take place in space, not in the base.

"As you were Gentlemen, unless you want a blaster wound, and they tend to be fatal," Master yelled as several guards started for their blasters.

"Now put them on the floor and kick them over" Master continued.

The guards did as they were told.

The Commando's rounded up the staff and kept a close eye on them in one of the corners of the room.

While several checked the computers, and others left the command centre heading to take care of any guards around the place, Master questioned the General in charge.

"Now General, we believe you have a new hyperdrive situated somewhere in the base, want to save us a lot of trouble and tell us where it is, unless of course you would rather make us tell you".

The General caved quickly, "Its in the hold".

Master's communicator rang, "Yes Seph, how goes outside"?

"Fine, 90 of enemy fighters are gone the _Challenge_ has just arrived in radio range & we have a communication from RA Manitsas, Priority One" Seph replied.

Master replied, "Patch it through" There were several beeps, "Admiral"? Master asked.

"How goes on the Base Lt Commander"? Manitsas voice came through clearly.

"Most of the enemy resistance has been dealt with, they were understaffed so that helped, and I've gotten the location of the Hyperdrive, Its in the hold, also according to the manifest, fuel cells and other ship components are in the containers outside, with those parts the fighters should be able to be fixed, at least some of them anyway" Master replied.

"Good, I want the Command Staff placed in a shuttle we are sending over, they will be placed in the brig for questioning" Manitsas replied sounding happy that they had won a small victory.

"Um, Master, you better look at this" The Commando's Captain called over from a screen.

"Hold on a moment Sir" Master said to Manitsas.

Master went to the screen, "It appears to be plans, for a super Mon Cal Cruiser, those rumours are closer to the point than EH Command realised" the Commando continued.

Master turned to the General and said in a more serious tone than he had ever used in years, "Was this ship ever made"?

The General Smiled, the face of defeat was gone from his face, "We made the plans, and if New Republic Command did make it, your days are numbered Imperial scum".

With a blink of an eye Master fired a stun bolt into the General and he slumped to the floor, "Damn Republic Generals" he muttered with a smile as he flicked the switch to the comm.,

"Sir, we are uploading plans for something to the _Challenge_ Computer, I suggest you take a look".

The Commando uploaded the plans and there was a moment silence from Manitsas.

"Master get back on the _Challenge_" Manitsas said as the connection closed.


	4. Chapter Three – An Unknown Threat

Chapter Three. 

Chapter Three – An Unknown Threat.

_Briefing Room._

_ISD-II Challenge_

_Hour Later._

RA Manitsas sat at the head of the table, Wing Commander Darklord sat to his right, and around the table sat the squadron commanders. Master also joined them at Manitsas request.

"We have managed to send a message to Aurora through the Holonet connection the base had, they are going to send re-enforcements however we are going to be on our own for the next several hours, I want a constant patrol around the ship, the _Malice_ took some damage and shields are only at 50 so keep a close eye on it too, the good news is we have fixed several fighters even secured some new ones out of the Rebel Base, the tech report with the parts 75 of our fighters will be at 100 within a day or two. WC Darklord has the Squadron orders of what your pilots will be flying" Manitsas paused for a moment, he was not happy with the second part of his orders.

"Now for the best news of the day, our first priority is to return home, however EH command is heavily concerned with the threat of this new Mon Calamari star ship.

We got orders from Grand Admiral Ronin himself saying that he wants as much information as possible on this new ship. We need to know if it was ever built it could pose the greatest threat we have ever seen, several craft have been sent out on recon missions, we are hoping they have some info before we leave, any questions"?

No one spoke,

"Ok good, dismissed" Manitsas said with a frown as he left.

_Bridge_

_ISD-II Challenge_

_Four Hours after Briefing_

"Have any of our scouts returned yet Admiral"? Darklord asked Manitsas as he arrived in the bridge after briefing the next lot of pilots who were going to patrol.

"Yes, Five out of the ten, no information so far however they have picked up on several New Republic capital ships which is a small worry for EH Command" Manitsas answered not taking his gaze away from holoprojector which showed where the Challenge was positioned around the former New Republic base.

"SIR"! The radar officer yelled.

"Yes what is it"? Manitsas asked.

"We have several New Republic starships entering the area, I count two Gunship's, one MC-80, two MC-60's and a Imperial Class Star Destroyer, and they are launching fighters," the officer said.

"Communication coming through Admiral" the communications officer said.

"Main screen" Manitsas replied, the face of an Imperial General appeared on screen, his neat and tidy uniform gave Manitsas the idea he hadn't been a General long.

"Emperor's Hammer forces, I am General Zikalsa of the New Republic Fleet, you are all under arrest for the capture of our Vilous base, if you do not power down your craft we will destroy you" the General said with a smug look.

"General, we have dealt with New Republic Generals before, if you think we are afraid of your fleet you got another thing coming, prepare to defend yourselves" Manitsas said before killing the communication.

"Sound the alarm, red alert, launch every squad we have" Manitsas said.

Klaxons started blaring.

"Darklord, I suggest you get your wing to their ships, this is going to be tough" Manitsas said with a sigh.

"Yes sir, ill fly myself if it helps any" Darklord replied.

Manitsas smiled as DL ran out of the bridge.


	5. Chapter Four – Help is on its way!

Chapter Four. 

Chapter Four – Help is on its way!

"Status?" Yelled RA Manitsas as another blast rumbled with dull thunder off the heavy hull of the ship. The _Challenge_ was built for heavy combat and could withstand significant punishment, but given enough time and enough damage, they could indeed be destroyed or disabled. Luckily it wasn't close to that. Yet.

"Sir, we've just lost our portside deflector shields." came the voice from one of the officers on the bridge.

"Shut down all power to the engines, and put it into shields. We've got to hold out!"

"Yes, sir."

"I want a an update on our losses, stat!"

Moments later the Tactical officer spoke up.

"Sir, Damage Control estimates a thirty percent loss in our fighter craft."

"And the enemy?"

"Well, we don't know the extent of their forces, sir, but if they're using a standard Battle Group, we estimate around sixty percent losses to their star fighter craft and fifty percent losses to their capital ships.

"Good, we might get out of this in one piece after all"

The New Republic MC-80 lost its shields and as if that was a signal any friendly craft nearby started to attack it, however even without shields the MC-80 still is powerful, its started to turn and headed straight for the Challenge lasers blaring.

"I want that blow apart, we cant stand a direct hit from that to our bridge" Manitsas yelled throughout the bridge.

"All Torpedo tubes, get them ready to fire"

The Mon Calamari starship closed in, the shields slowly started to dwindle as the lasers impacted on the Challenge.

Manitsas watched the distance indicator tick down, until it was where he wanted, "ALL TORPEDO'S FIRE, HARD TO PORT".

All the torpedo tubes launched their Advanced proton Torpedo's directly at the incoming ship, all impacted on its hull.

The Mon Calamari star ship exploded almost directly above the _Challenge_, the _Challenge_ rolled hard to port trying to escape the blast, thankfully the starship took a few moments to explode. However the blast hit the rear of the ship.

"Sir, we have lost the use of our engines and our rear shields" one of the officers said.

"Call the fighters, I don't want any fighter to get a hit on us" Manitsas replied "And see if you can get the _DeathFyre_ to protect our flank, they haven't taken much damage yet and there guns should stop the fighters".

"Typhoon One, take your squad and get them to protect the _Challenge's_ flank"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time, Typhoon group, lets go" Captain Boliv said to his squad.

"Right with you boss" the Flight Leaders radioed in.

Boliv shot a blast from his lasers and ion linked at a nearby B-wing, it stopped dead in space so Boliv ignored it.

Thankfully the Y-Wings they were flying has such large shields, Boliv hadn't lost anyone in his squad yet, and even if the Y-Wings were as slow as hell he was happy they were flying them.

Another wave of B-Wings headed towards the _Challenge_,

"Break off and take out those B-wings" Boliv said.

He grinned a little, you fly your best when under pressure.

"Sir another wave is approaching." Manitsas head shot up. From his view port, he could see that the NR Star Destroyer was heading towards the _Challenge_, with several fighters closing in with it.

"ETA?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Approximately three minutes, sir. Then they'll be within the _Challenge's_ torpedo range."

"And the fighters?"

"ETA one minute, sir."

"Very well. Make sure all missile racks and torpedo tubes are filled to the hilt, hit the Star Destroyer with everything we have."

"Yes, sir."

"And where's Typhoon Squadron?"

"They're engaged with several B-Wings sir."

"And the _Malice's_ status"?

"Shields down, engines destroyed, it's fighting off the remaining gunship but it's a losing battle"

Manitsas frowned, "Get some fighters to help it, I want them to abandon ship, and where the hell are our re-enforcements, they should be here by now"

"No sign yet Admiral"

Manitsas cursed under his breath, while normally the _Challenge_ being an ISD Mark Two could have taken out an ISD, with its rear shields gone and the front shields fading things weren't good.

"Chris! Cut to your left!" Locke swore as the X-Wing on Chris's tail fired twin missiles.

"You've got two hot ones! Watch yourself!" Locke struggled to watch his own tail, pulling his Gunboat through a series of complex manoeuvres he managed to keep their blaster bolts from hitting him. Being an ace helped immensely.

"I see them!" A defensive flare shot out from McCollum's ship destroying one missile.

Chris pulled his Gun Boat into a twisting dive and the second missile shot past him and began to circle around, still on his tail. "Uh Locke, I'm out of flares."

"Come to twenty degrees. Gamma Manoeuvre."

"Yes sir!" To all appearances, Locke and Chris seemed to be playing a game of hi-tech chicken, each flying at high speeds toward the other.

"Now!" Locke yelled and at the last moment, Chris's Gun Boat shot straight up flying at a 60 degree angle above Locke's.

The missile flew right into Locke's stream of rapid-fire laser shots, exploding into hundreds of tiny fragments.

"Got it!"

"Thanks sir. Now only heaps more bogies to go."

Flash of light followed flash of light as torpedo followed torpedo to impact with explosive devastation on the gunship.

"You go Cyclone!" Chris yelled in delight.

"Tempest Squadron, this is COL Renegade. Pull clear of the ship, she's gonna blow."

Locke pulled his Gun Boat away from the gunship, and his squadron followed suit, momentarily dodging the enemy on their tails as well as putting some distance between them and the failing gunship.

The Gunship exploded and as the blast cleared several enemy fighters had been destroyed and the _Malice_ had survived although heavily damaged.

"Sir, Typhoon has destroyed the waves of incoming B-wings and have reached the defensive position around the _Challenge_ and are engaging the enemy fighters encroaching into our kill zone." An officer said.

"Good. Keep them there for now. Can we get our rear shields back on-line?"

"Not in this battle. Sir, the enemy Star Destroyer is in range and our shields are taking a pounding."

"Engage with everything we've got. Don't let them get close."

"Yes, sir. Fire at will." The command was given to the gunnery crews and torpedo after torpedo, missile after missile lurched into the darkness of space. Yet even though the Destroyer was taking damage it seemed to do very little as it continued firing.

"Now we're in for it." RA Manitsas sighed.

The blasts from the enemy Star Destroyer rocked the bridge.

"Enemy fighters coming from the Destroyer. Z-95 Head Hunter class. I count four squadrons."

"Get Inferno on them."

"Yes sir!" The command was given and chaos broke out. Inferno Squadron was enveloped in a cloud of Z-95 Headhunters.

With the assistance of the _Challenge's_ large guns and missile racks, it was clear that both sides were taking a beating. The heavily armoured hull of the _Challenge_ only took medium damage from the ensuing laser and missile attacks. But RA Manitsas was forced to think, that it was only a matter of time as the Star Destroyer was fired mercifully on the _Challenge _until the_ Challenge _was no more

"Sir, incoming transmission?"

"From the enemy?"

"No sir. These have just hypered in. Their IFF readings don't match the enemies " the aide's face broke into a wide grin which spelled relief. "They're our's sir. Our re-enforcements have arrived."

"_Challenge_, this is Battle Group 1, here to assist."

"Thank the stars! Put them on screen." Manitsas ordered. The gigantic display of the battle showed one Nebulon Frigate closing at rapid speed on the New Republic ships as well as a Victory Class Star Destroyer and two Assault Frigates.

Fighter craft consisting of Tie Defenders, Missile Boats and Tie Advanced began jetting from the hanger bays and moving into intercept position.

"Sir. VA Oldham aboard the _VSD Monitor, _VA Adrenaline asked me to come.

You are now in command of the reinforcements in this Battlegroup. We're currently launching fighters to intercept."

"Thank you, Vice Admiral." Nodded RA Manitsas. "It's good to see a friendly face. Did you bring the package?" The package referred to was the much-needed Shuttle Craft from Aurora carrying the sphophisticated equipment and crew with the technical know-how to install retro-fit and install the hyperdrive engine.

"Yes sir, we've got what you need."

"Good work, Admiral. Have your forces clear the way. When it's safe to do so, transfer the package to the _Challenge_. I want to get this ship to port as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir!" Oldham said, saluting smartly. "Our forces are now engaging."

From his control screen, RA Manitsas could see that remaining squadron or so of Z-95's quickly fell under the onslaught of missile and laser fire. And from the viewport bright flashes of light punctuated the darkness of space as fighter after fighter exploded into the silent darkness of space.

"All gunnery crews target that last approaching destroyer."

"Upload our full tactical situation to the rest of the Battle Group and let's clean the rest of this mess up." Manitsas said.

"There's still that Star Destroyer inbound, take it out as soon as possible, shields at full, we need to survive until it's destroyed".

_Briefing Room_

_ISD-II Challenge_

_Two hours later._

RA Manitsas looked at the reports from the battle, they had lost a good 50 of their fighters, luckily most of the pilots had been picked up were unhurt, several were in bacta tanks being treated, but overall the Challenge was in fairly good shape.

Manitsas stood, and looked at the people in the room, "As you all know, we now have the techs to install the hyperdrive and they are working on it as we speak, however the Challenge is also heavily damaged in our recent battle.

The techs are working overtime to fix our shields & lasers. Our engines have all been damaged so therefore we are stationary for the moment, thankfully we managed to salvage parts from the NR ISD that attacked us as well as parts from the captured base so the techs assure me we will be back up to 100 in three days at most and due to the re-enforcements arriving we now have a ample fleet in-case we are attacked again, also due to our re-enforcements and current fighter parts our fighters should be up and running again by the time we are ready to leave" Manitsas nodded in Oldham's direction, he just nodded in reply.

"The craft we sent gathered no information on the Mon Calamari starship so once we are repaired we are returning home, with the large amount of New Republic activity in the area EH command agrees that we should return for repairs and downtime for our pilots before we go on our next tour of duty".

"Go and brief your pilots, commend them on the job they did in the recent battle, we can finally see the Light at the end of this dark tunnel".

_Bridge_

_ISD-II Challenge_

_Three Days later._

RA Manitsas smiled, they were about to enter hyperspace, the _Challenge_ had been completely repaired, and the remaining fighters were in the process of being fixed.

All other craft had been informed that they would be jumping momentarily.

"Sir, all craft report they are ready to follow us, the _Malice_ has been completely striped of any valuable parts and fitted with a bomb as requested, and its set up for remote piloting" an officer said.

"Good, count down to jump" Manitsas said.

The counter counted down, with less than a minute to go several warning lights came on.

"Sir we have an enemy fleet exiting hyperspace directly behind us, I count two MC-60's, One MC-80b, one MC-90, three Imperial Class Star Destroyers and an……..Super Star Destroyer", the radar officer said not believing what the readout was telling him.

Manitsas swallowed hard, "Ignore all enemy ships, we jump into hyperspace in 10 seconds, All hands prepare for lightspeed".

Oldham who was next to Manitsas, groaned the spoke, "That SSD in NR hands can cause a problem later"

"I don't care at the moment, we are getting the hell out of here" Manitsas said.

The _Challenge_ and its escorts jumped into hyperspace, as the NR fleet approached the jump point, the Malice blew apart in a spectacular fashion taking out one of the ISD's.


End file.
